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Reebok targets Rs
150 cr profit Nalagarh steel
unit goes on steam GM to launch
1.6-litre Optra A policy that
covers 7 plans Firms upbeat on
growth prospects Bank to finance
hydel project soon |
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Cut in farm loan
rates on cards FII net buyers in
equities
Compensation is taxable
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Reebok targets Rs 150 cr profit next year New Delhi, December 14 At the same time, the company is seeking to establish a strong brand equity as a promoter of fitness and not just as a footwear major by cashing in on the rising fitness craze of upwardly mobile Indians. The company, which had earlier signed on Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj and Kaif as its brand ambassadors, have now entered a three-year agreement with the All-India Tennis Association (IATA), as the official kit sponsor of the Indian Davis Cup and Federation Cup Teams. For the first time, the Indian Davis Cup team will wear the national colour, apart from the Reebok Logo on their dresses and sports kits. The key players include Leader Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Rohan Bopanna, Harsh Mankad and Sunil Kumar under the captaincy of Ramesh Krishnan, Managing Director of Reebok India Company Subhinder Singh Prem told The Tribune in an exclusive interview. Significantly, the success of the Indian sports stars in the international arena and the emergence of several non-conventional career options have spurred growth in the fitness industry. While no figures were available officially on revenue and profit, industry sources said Reebok India could be targeting a profitability figure upwards of Rs 150 crore in the coming fiscal year. While official figures are not available, it is reported that companies such as Reebok and Nike earn 30 to 40 per cent of their revenues in India selling gym equipment, workout apparels and shoes for people burning their extra calories in health clubs. The focus is on promoting sports and fitness by sponsoring various sport icons and teams in India. The objective behind this initiative is to develop a new genre of sports and fitness enthusiasts making immense sense for a brand that is synonymous to sports and fitness gear such as footwear, apparel and equipment, Mr Prem said. The company runs fitness programmes under the specially created unit called the Reebok Instructor Alliance (RIA). The programme is aimed at enhancing the skills of fitness instructors, persnal trainers and health club owners. Till date, the company has certified about 500 fitness instructors for the past seven years through its various workshops and certification programmes. We conduct specialist-training workshops for sports coaches, trainers, instructors and sportspersons. At these workshops, certified Reebok Instructors conduct scientifically developed fitness programmes. These programmes are designed to educate trainers and fitness-conscious consumers about the benefits and techniques of exercises which are helpful in maintaining and enhancing physical fitness and quality of life, the Reebok India Managing Director said. Internationally, the company spends more than $100 million annually on research and development of shoes and India will continue to remain as a major market. India holds a very important position for Reebok’s overall scheme of things. Indian market has a huge potential in terms of Reebok’s offerings and we are already the market leader in our segment. Mr Prem believes the company’s next big push in the Indian market is going to come from the women’s and kids wear category. We are now looking at the women and kid’s wear to add to strength to our product portfolio, which are expected to show 40 per cent and 15 per cent growth. Recently we have launched Ms RBK collection targeted at young women and the response has been tremendous, he said. Mr Prem said the apparel range was an important business for the company. The apparel range consists mainly of specialised sportswear such T-shirts, shorts, jackets, tracksuits, etc. The latest apparel from the stable I the high-end PlayDry Technology which is a moisture management system. It allows the body hear to push perspiration through the fabric for rapid evaporation, he explained.
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Nalagarh steel unit goes on steam Chandigarh, December 14 Mr Pradeep Aggarwal said the current market price of construction steel was Rs 22 a kg against Rs 14 a kg last year. The price of iron ore had gone up by more than 700 per cent. As such instead of exporting, India had to import iron ore now because of a boom in the construction sector in the country. Compared to last year, while the demand for construction steel has shot up by nearly 20 per cent, the production has increased by only 10 per cent. Then there is short supply of both iron ore and steel scrap, reveals Mr Aggarwal, holding that cut in import duty and import of finished steel from Turkey and Ukraine could be the only solutions to meet the growing demand. The company now proposes to take its production centres to Mumbai, Hyderabad, Indore and Durgapur holding that the steel industry, especially construction steel,
will continue to be in major demand. "Though we have trade and manufacturing enquiries from overseas, including Sri Lanka, South Africa and other countries, we may not be able to export steel because of our inability to meet the domestic demand," said Mr Sunil Aggarwal, General Manager of the company. The rising prices have been worrying not only the industry using steel as raw material but also builders and even a common man besides the government. The recent meetings convened by the government to check the price rise further has not yielded any result, said Mr Aggarwal, holding that imported steel would not cost less than Rs 24 a kg. The Nalagarh plant will produce 4,000 metric tonnes of steel every month to meet the demands of Himachal Pradesh and parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana. "We will make our quality product available to consumers at 5 to 7 per cent less than the current market price. |
New Delhi, December 14 The “Optra”, which was first launched in July, 2003, is sold in both manual and automatic transmission variants between Rs 7.89 lakh and Rs 10.29 lakh (Ex-showroom Delhi). “All other features will remain the same as the existing 1.8-litre model,” the source said. General Motors India Vice-President (Corporate Affairs) P Balendran said there were plans to roll out a new model of the “Optra” but did not give details. Sales of the company surged by 66 per cent to 13,505 units during January-November 2003, Balendran said.
— PTI |
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Investors continue to stay bullish
Mumbai, December 14 Dealers and stock traders say the coming sessions will see the institutional investors consolidating their portfolios after recent gains that have taken the market barometer to a nearly four-year high. "At this moment it looks like the market will pause for a breather in the early part of the coming week after sustained gains in the last few sessions," said a fund manager with a foreign brokerage firm. "But I don't expect the market index to plunge sharply lower. The market may see either range-bound trade or slight downside...but not a major fall from this level. Investors continue to stay bullish and see much higher levels," he told IANS. "We have seen in the recent weeks the market brushing aside correction in a very short span of time and quickly recovering the lost ground, indicating the strong underlying strength of the market. "This may well be repeated in the coming week as well. The pattern of foreign fund inflows will also influence the trading sentiment to some extent." Sensex closed on Friday at 5,315.81, representing a gain of 184.09 points or 3.6 per cent over its previous week. The market has posted gains in three consecutive weeks on large-scale buying in shares of new well as old economy counters after closing with a loss of 1.5 per cent on November 22. A Crisil study said the gains had been largely driven by a huge infusion of foreign funds into the trading ring. Foreign institutional investors tend to book profits towards the end of the calendar year, so some softening of prices can be expected then, said the report. "The inflows are likely to continue in the sessions ahead on hopes a sharp economic rebound in the current financial year," the analyst added. In its mid-year economic review, the government says the economy in the current fiscal year will register a growth of over 7 per cent on increased agriculture production and industrial activity. In the old economy sector, Ranbaxy Laboratories by sales, gained nearly 1per cent over its previous session's close to touch Rs.1,072.55 on fresh buying triggered by company specific information. The company said Monday it had received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a generic chewable tablet form of GlaxoSmithKline Plc's Augmentin antibiotic. The SBI rose 3.2 per cent to Rs.474.45 after the bank said it expected its non-food credit to rise by 15 per cent in the current financial year. In the technology sector, Infosys Technologies closed with a gain of 2.4 per cent at Rs.5,030.75 tracking a bullish trend on the tech-laden Nasdaq stock
exchange. — IANS |
| A policy that
covers 7 plans Chandigarh, December 14 Mr Gurinder Raj Singh, Regional Manager, National Insurance, said out of the seven plans a customer was required to take at least three plans. The first plan was compulsory under that the customer would have to pay an annual premium of Rs 464 for Rs 1lakh insurance cover that would comprise personal and family protection against fire, lightening, explosion, earthquake, theft, burglary, besides up to Rs 20,000 coverage for the breakdown of refrigerator, washing machine, geyser; up to Rs 12,000 coverage for breakdown expenses on TV sets and Rs 20,000 coverage for jewellery, watches and cameras against all risks. The customer would have to pay just Rs 60 per 1lakh sum assured for the insurance cover for his residential building against these risks. By paying just Rs 30 extra, one can get additional insurance coverage for the house if it is damaged in any terrorism activity. The customers would also get insurance cover against personal accident. For this he is required to pay Rs 72 annual premium for Rs 1 lakh capital sum assured. The Sampooran Suraksha Scheme also covers mediclaim policy as well. |
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Firms upbeat on growth prospects
New Delhi, December 14 According to the CII-Ascon survey, the manufacturing sector is upbeat, and the trend, which began last year, is expected to gain ground, leading to an increase in overall production, sales and exports. The survey, based on feedback from CII member companies and 96 manufacturing associations, indicates "continued bullish growth in the manufacturing sector, as seen during the first quarter of the current year". The Indian economy is projected to achieve a growth rate of seven percent in the current fiscal year, up from 4.3 percent logged in 2002-03, on the back of sharply higher farm sector output and an increase in industrial productivity. The survey, conducted for the April-September quarterly period, says a large number of sectors posted excellent and high growth compared to the same period in the previous year. "The bullish trend is basically due to the revival in the economy and a pick-up in overall demand in many sectors, which were registering moderate and negative growth," said the report. Out of a total of 133 sectors, the report indicated as against nine earlier 16 sectors have recorded an excellent growth rate of more than 20 percent. In the high-growth segment the numbers had fallen from 42 to 35, while those that recorded moderate growth of 0-10 percent had increased from 55 to 59. Encouragingly, 23 sectors registered negative growth as compared to 28 in the earlier survey, indicating sustained revival in the economy. In the July-September quarter of the fiscal year 2002-03, out of 131 sectors, 17 recorded excellent growth, 29 high growth, 59 registered moderate growth and 26 sectors showed negative growth. "The production trends confirm a continuity of growth in the manufacturing sector seen in the last financial year and in the first quarter of the current financial year," the survey report said. The overall picture for exports in the July-September was also rosy compared to the previous quarter. The survey revealed that exports are higher in many sectors and have improved over the last three quarters. Cars, three-wheelers, motor cycles, auto components, cement, ball and roller bearings, fluid power components, polyester staple fibre, polyester filament yarn were among products that recorded excellent export growth in the July-September quarter of the current financial year.
— IANS |
Bank to finance hydel project soon Dharamsala, December, 14 Mr Sampat was talking to mediapersons after giving away awards to the staff of Dharamsala branch of the bank which had been declared the best semi-urban branch. He said Dharamsala branch had been adjudged the best among 487 branches and had been conferred with the excellence award for the year 2002-03. |
Cut in farm loan rates
on cards Aurangabad, December 14 “The Finance Ministry is working on a scheme to further reduce the interest rates on agriculture loans and make it more accessible,” he said inaugurating the `Maha Expo 2003’ here. Describing the heavy debt on states as a matter of concern, he said the government is formulating a scheme to reduce the debt burden and give relief to states in a phased manner.
— PTI |
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FII net buyers in equities
Mumbai, December 14 Mutual funds (MFs), on the other hand, netted sales of Rs 40.41 crore in equities and net purchases of Rs 211.16 crore in the debt market during the period under review, according to data available with SEBI. The FIIs bought and sold equity instruments worth Rs 1,010.8 crore and Rs 398.5 crore to net inflows of Rs 612.4 crore ($ 134.9 mn) on December 11, the highest for the trading week. The foreign funds were net buyers in equities at Rs 221.5 crore ($ 48.8 mn), Rs 348.7 crore ($ 76.8 mn) and Rs 273.7 crore ($ 60.1 mn) on December 8, 10 and 12. In debt, they stayed away from indulging in any activity for four trading days. MFs were net sellers and net buyers on two days each in the equity market. They were net sellers at Rs 16.94 crore on December 8 and Rs 78.42 crore on the next day. On the debt market front, MFs were net buyers for all the four days. They recorded net purchases of Rs 81.26 crore and Rs 77.83 crore on the first day of the week and December 10. The BSE-barometer crossed the 5,300 mark, first time since April 13, 2000.
— PTI |
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by R.N. Lakhotia Compensation is taxable
Q:
I along with other oustees of Kol Dam Project to be constructed on the Satluj in H.P. will receive compensation of my land acquired for the project during 11/2003. I am a senior citizen who submits IT return every year. My son and daughter-in-law both are in service and one is tax payer. As the compensation was expected to be received during 2002. I struck a bargain to purchase an incomplete house for Rs 5 lakh. Due to non-receipt of compensation I managed to receive the loan from ICICI Bank in the name of my son and daughter-in-law and got the house registered in their names during 5/2002. Now, I am interested to clear the loan out of land compensation and the balance will be spent by me on the construction of another house in my native place. This plot is in the name of my son only. How the transaction should be shown by me and my son and daughter-in-law in their papers and in the returns. Will it be shown as gift, and if so, to what extent. If it is not possible, when the amount of compensation is to be deposited at present and thereafter the amount be gifted every year. — G.R. Sharma, Shimla Ans: In respect of the compensation amount received by you, you will be liable to make payment of income-tax thereon. Making investment in a property in the name of son or daughter-in-law by you will not save income tax for you. It is not clear whether the property is purchased in your name. However, purely from tax angle it is advised that this property should be purchased only in your own name to enable you to save tax on capital gains. You may, however, make gifts in due course to your son. Avoid making gift to your daughter-in-law during your lifetime otherwise the income arising, therefrom, will be added to your income. The compensation belongs to you and after making payment of tax thereon or investing the money in purchase of residential property the balance amount of compensation if you like, can be gifted to your son and not to the daughter-in-law in view of the reasons mentioned above.
Repair loan
Q: I am a bank employee, I had taken house loan in 1991. Due to flood my house is seriously damaged and it needs major repair. Now I want to avail repair loan from my employer. Whether interest on repair of house loan is relatable from my income. If yes, then how much interest amount and under which section of the Income Tax Act. Jaspal S. Madan, Patiala Ans: The interest paid by you on repair of your house will be eligible for tax deduction under Section 24 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
GPF account
Q: As per Punjab Government F.D. letter No. 634 dated 21.8.01 a Punjab Government employee after retirement can continue his G.P. Fund account for 5 years. Is the interest earned after retirement is exemptible from income-tax or not? Kindly clarify it. Sat Pal Kansal, Jaito Ans: You can continue to maintain GP Fund Account to the maximum extent as permissible by their rules. The interest even after retirement from such account will continue to be exempt from income-tax.
Exemption u/S
10
Q: I am a Central Government employee and my present basic pay is Rs 8300 p.m. For getting exemption under Section 10 of the I.T. Act i.e. exemption for house rent allowance, we need to calculate the rent paid in excess of 10 per cent of the salary. In this regard, kindly clarify whether “Salary” for this purpose is basic pay or basic plus DA. G. Ravichandran, Amritsar Ans: For the purposes of calculating perquisite regarding house rent allowance, salary will be treated as the basic salary plus DA only if the term of employment so provide, but excludes all other allowances and perquisites. This definition is as per clause (h) of rule 2 of Part A of the Fourth Schedule to the I.T. Act, 1961. |
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Riding high on its success of Indian cricket’s fitness icons Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh, Reebok India is now seeking to cash in on the recent achievements of the country’s tennis stars.